Sir John Compton

Sir John Compton, who died on Friday aged 81, was three times leader of St Lucia and guided his nation to independence from Britain in 1979.

Known as "the Father of the Nation" (or, more colloquially, as "Daddy Compton"), he served as chief minister from 1964 to 1979, and as prime minister from 1982 to 1996.

Then, having retired from active politics, Compton made an unexpected comeback in December last year, winning an election and serving once more as prime minister until being incapacitated by a series of strokes.

Today the 240 sq mile Caribbean island and its population of some 170,000 relies principally on tourism; before the tourist boom the island was sustained mostly by the export of bananas (St Lucia produces more than 100 varieties), particularly after 1964, when it stopped producing sugar cane.

As chief minister, Compton had first attempted to persuade Britain to grant independence to St Lucia in the late 1960s. His efforts were at first rebuffed, the island being given only "Associated Statehood" (quasi-independence, with Britain looking after defence and foreign affairs).

He observed at the time: "The colour of our skins is against us, and a government, even one that professes democracy, is pleased to legislate and propound the doctrine of second-class citizenship for people of another colour."

In 1974 he tried again, and negotiations continued for five years, finally reaching a successful conclusion in February 1979. Compton now became prime minister of an independent nation within the Commonwealth.

John George Melvin Compton was born on the island of Canouan, St Vincent, on April 29 1926, and was sent to school on St Lucia. He then worked for two years at oil refineries in Curacao before travelling to Britain to study at the London School of Economics and the University of Wales, where he read Economics and Law.

After being called to the Bar by Gray's Inn, in 1951 he returned to St Lucia, and immediately became interested in politics. In 1954 he was elected an independent member of the Legislative Council, but later that year joined the Labour Party and was appointed member for social affairs.

A supporter of the trades unions, in 1957 he led a strike by the sugar plantation workers who were seeking better working conditions; he was arrested after challenging a white planter to run him over with a tractor.

After the election of 1957, by which time a ministerial system along Westminster lines had been introduced, he was made Labour's deputy leader and minister for trade and production.

In 1961 Compton resigned to found the National Labour Movement, which later merged with the Peoples' Progressive Party to become the United Workers' Party (UWP); he became its leader in 1964, and in that year led it to an election victory over Labour, becoming the island's chief minister.

The celebrations that greeted St Lucia's independence in 1979 were short-lived: five months after his triumph Compton and his party lost the election to Labour. They were returned to power, however, in May 1982, when they captured 14 of the island's 17 seats.

Under Compton St Lucia was often the location for meetings of Caribbean leaders, and he was frequently chosen to represent smaller West Indian islands at international conferences.

He was particularly respected for his efforts to promote the unification of all West Indian islands as one strong nation, an idea that had been expressed in the short-lived West Indies Federation of 1958-62.

In 1966 Compton had tried unsuccessfully to establish a new West Indies Federation, this time for the eastern Caribbean. Thirty years later, on leaving office, he reflected: "It is a disappointment that I may not see ourselves entering the 21st century as one people, one nation, with one destiny, but rather as a divided people scattered over the Caribbean Sea."

Compton was generally pro-Western in his foreign policy, and was criticised during the Cold War years for allowing American military training exercises to take place at St Lucia. He told his detractors that the Caribbean needed Washington's help in fighting drug trafficking and Communism.

At home he promoted the development of roads, airports, industrial estates and housing projects. Among his proposals was dredging the mosquito-infested swampland in the north of the island, an area that became Rodney Bay, which today boasts shops, hotels and a marina.

On his unexpected return to politics last year, at the age of 81, Compton's UWP took 11 of the 17 seats in the House of Assembly at the expense of prime minister Kenny Anthony, who was seeking a third five-year term.

On assuming office Compton promised to reduce crime and unemployment; he also caused China to sever diplomatic relations with St Lucia when he restored his island's ties with Taiwan. In May, however, he was forced by illness to hand over power to an acting prime minister, Stephenson King.

Compton was appointed KCMG in 1997, and to the Order of the Caribbean Community in 2002. He was sworn of the Privy Council in 1983.

John Compton is survived by his wife, Janice, and their five children. The Prince of Wales, who met the family when visiting St Lucia with the Royal Navy, is godfather to the Comptons' daughter Fiona.